Pepys Vest

Purchase and Download: Pepys Vest on Ravelry

Updated version of pattern published 7 Nov 2018.

This vest is named in honor of Samuel Pepys, who recorded in his diary, (October 8, 1666) that King Charles II of England “hath yesterday, in Council, declared his resolution of setting a fashion for clothes…. It will be a vest, I know not well how; but it is to teach the nobility thrift.”

The Pepys Vest is a simple, seamless, reversible vest, knit flat from the top down on a circular needle. The raglan style sleeves are held on a stitch holder and completed after finishing the body of the vest. The vest features a 3-stitch edging around the neck, down the front on either side, and across the hemline as well as slight waist shaping on the sides and by way of a ribbed mock belt on the back and single button closure on the front.

The chunky yarn lends itself well to the relaxed fit of this vest and, in keeping with the edict of King Charles’ II, the vest is suitably thrifty as the entire project can be completed with one skein of Cascade Ecological Wool. Guidelines are provided for increasing the positive ease of the vest if a less fitted look is preferred as well as a variety of style options. See also my “Blackstone Seamless Vest” which is a sister pattern that incorporates Intarsia for the edging and striping in the body of the sweater: these features could easily be integrated with this pattern.

Techniques*

• Cast On: Knitter’s choice
• Increase: KFB, M1R, M1L, YO
• Decrease: P2tog, K2tog, SSK
• Bind Off

*Specific techniques employed besides or other than basic knit and purl.